1078 replies to this topic

[saint mark]

All quiet on The Saint front these days. 

all crying into the newly released paperbacks, because that is all we are getting. Rereading the bunch and rewatching the old stuff.

[Simon]

Well, I have today branched out and bought the French 'The Saint Lies in Wait'.  (Le Saint prend l'affut)

 

I also bought a complete set of the French lobby cards that were used to promote this film.

 

There was some impulse in these purchases and I am not sure if a) my French is up to the task or if there will be English subtitles to help me with a).

 

Depending on the above, I may then see if I can source Le Saint Mene la Danse.  And then the six Dutton films....

 

That said, continued good luck to Ian and co.

[Odd Jobbies]

And then the six Dutton films....

 

I love to re-watch those. I have fond memories of a lovely summer's evening, watching Dutton chase someone on the roof of the Sydney Opera House on LWT.

[Simon]

Ah - that is one that I never did see.

 

In fact I think I saw only four of the six on their initial run.  I do remember some ineffectual running around on the London flood barrier.

[Ian Dickerson]

Simon,

 

I'm not aware of any English subtitles for the Marais film so I'm afraid you'll probably have to keep a dictionary to hand ;-).

 

I'm guessing you bought the DVD release? Hopefully you got it from Amazon France rather than Amazon.com as there seems to be a substantial price difference.

 

You can get both "Le Saint mene la danse" on DVD plus the dubbed US version "The Dance of Death". I note the latter can be bought from Amazon's Instant Video services as well.

 

Ian

[dave609]

I've been looking at this page for a very long time now, but have only just registered..  I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting a link to an interview with Roger Moore (http://www.bbc.co.uk...t-arts-24654682).

 

One part sounds like good news re: the new Saint series...

 

"Interviewer: How is the pilot coming along - has it been picked up yet?

Mr. Moore: From the last email I've had, it has had the go-ahead. I will make the odd appearance - I play a sort of rather mysterious man who is on the end of a telephone or will suddenly arrive where The Saint is and give him his opinion."

 

If it's true, I can't wait

[Simon]

I posted some thoughts on the Saint forum but here as well, for those interested.

Hmm.

A collecting desire for the US 1930s and 40s films lobby cards, extending this to other areas such as the Kilmer film and Moore two-parters, and hence to the Saint Prend l'Affut lead me to thinking that perhaps, I should actually watch this to see what all the fuss is about.

I had a smattering of French further to working and living in the country in '90-91 but I am afraid to say, my French really was not up to this task.

That said, this film is awful and I can see exactly why Charteris had had enough and said Non Plus.

A film related 50% by narration and 50% by awful dubbing and hopeless ADR, offered a story about the recovery of some money by following a trail of camp bunglers pulling faces at each and making whoopee noises.

I continue to be amazed at just how much injustice this literary character has had to endure through his moving image translations.

I will try to source Mene La Danse. But the above, plus the few minutes I saw of the miserable rubbish excreted upon us in the form of 'in Manhatten' means I will not be looking forward to seeing either 'Danse', or indeed the rest of 'Manhatten'.

[Simon]

Simon,

 

You can get both "Le Saint mene la danse" on DVD plus the dubbed US version "The Dance of Death". I note the latter can be bought from Amazon's Instant Video services as well.

 

Ian

 

Many thanks Ian - bought from the US Amazon as a hard disk.  I couldn't find on Amazon UK and there are country restrictions for streaming or buying from Amazon's Instant Video.

 

Will let you know how I get on.  In the meantime, I am trying to complete a colleciton of lobby cards for all the Saint movies.  Would you know if any were produced for Dance.  And also if you know of any sellers of the US lobbies for the RKO movies.

 

Best.

[marktmurphy]

I've been looking at this page for a very long time now, but have only just registered..  I hope I'm not breaking any rules by posting a link to an interview with Roger Moore (http://www.bbc.co.uk...t-arts-24654682).

 

One part sounds like good news re: the new Saint series...

 

"Interviewer: How is the pilot coming along - has it been picked up yet?

Mr. Moore: From the last email I've had, it has had the go-ahead. I will make the odd appearance - I play a sort of rather mysterious man who is on the end of a telephone or will suddenly arrive where The Saint is and give him his opinion."

 

If it's true, I can't wait

 

Yeah I saw that; I wonder if there's any truth to it.

[Ian Dickerson]

 

 

Simon,

 

You can get both "Le Saint mene la danse" on DVD plus the dubbed US version "The Dance of Death". I note the latter can be bought from Amazon's Instant Video services as well.

 

Ian

 

Many thanks Ian - bought from the US Amazon as a hard disk.  I couldn't find on Amazon UK and there are country restrictions for streaming or buying from Amazon's Instant Video.

 

Will let you know how I get on.  In the meantime, I am trying to complete a colleciton of lobby cards for all the Saint movies.  Would you know if any were produced for Dance.  And also if you know of any sellers of the US lobbies for the RKO movies.

 

Best.

 

Don't know of any lobby cards that were produced under the Dance of Death title. Plenty produced for the original film in non-English languages.

 

As for RKO lobby cards; I'd suggest Ebay and patience.

 

Ian

 

[Simon]

Cheers Ian.

 

(You have quoted me in your response - sort of thing)

 

I will keep looking under Mene Danse for lobbies then.  And yes, ebay and various auction houses replete with patience and a long held belief that I will live forever...

 

Ongoing good luck with pilot endeavours, etc.

[Simon]

I have just taken delivery of the six Dutton films.

 

At present, I have had a look at the first two, The Brazilian Connection and the Big Bang.  The first was not as bad as a I remembered and the second was plain awful with a manifestation of quite the most implausible driving and motorcycle stunts.

 

Four more to go; I will continue to bravely withstand the 80's big hair, lip gloss and synthesised music.

[scaramunga]

I have just taken delivery of the six Dutton films.

 

At present, I have had a look at the first two, The Brazilian Connection and the Big Bang.  The first was not as bad as a I remembered and the second was plain awful with a manifestation of quite the most implausible driving and motorcycle stunts.

 

Four more to go; I will continue to bravely withstand the 80's big hair, lip gloss and synthesised music.

 

Awesome. Good stuff.

[Simon]

They really weren't.

 

These fell short of being 'Saint' stories by a country mile.  Indeed some of the elements I feel were going in a totally opposite direction to what would have been Saintly escapades and characteristics.  For the most part, the episodes all had in common;

 

1. Great sweeping set up shots slowly arcing from one point of interest to a character - they took a lifetime to acheive their purpose.

2. Numerous occasions showing Templar running around, pausing, perhaps momentarily taking up chase again, only for the chase to peter out due to someone else sorting it out.

3. Fantastically telegraphed Ac-Ting.  With editing to match.

4. Awful muzic.

 

Unfortunately too, Mr Dutton, while no doubt being a charming chap, did rather walk around as though he had an insoluable suppository stuck up his ass.  Cat-like, he was not.  His pauses to look again, or check something were also from the above school of Ten Month Telegraphing.

 

Indeed, the larger reaction to all this nonsense was my feelings for poor old Charteris who had somehow, been once again convinced to sell his hero out for some more of this misdirection and misunderstanding of what the Saint entails as a character.  A character who in the books was of lightening cut and thrust, and in the moving image has of late, been rather podgey and incapable. 

 

I still think the Sanders period for the most part, was the closest to character and storyline combined.

[saint mark]

I have been always a big Fan of Ian Ogilvy's version, which was more violent than RM and reaped the profit from being filmed on location in France, Italy and the UK, as always his series was several seasons too short for my liking.

 

George Sanders is one of my favorites as well.

[Simon]

And now, I have just taken delivery of the Felix Marten film; Le Saint Mene la Danse, or Dance of Death as it had to be latterly be known.

 

Assessment to be imparted....

[TheREAL008]

Ordered a copy of Enter The Saint, I've never read it before. Why wasn't Meet the Tiger included with the reissues?

[Dustin]

Not sure but I think Charteris' own feelings about the book have been quite mixed, he supposedly didn't want reprints of that if I recall correctly. If so it's a very sad decision, many fans try to capture a copy for years.

[Simon]

Isn't the title owned by another publishing house? 

 

This is a question, not a statement.  Maybe the deal couldn't be done...if true.

[Dustin]

Could also be; that would probably complicate the reprint situation. However, it's become increasingly difficult to acquire a copy of MEET THE TIGER at a decent price. A reprint would no doubt sell fine, were it to happen in the near future.

[Grard Bond]

Since when is this situation with Meet the Tiger?

When I discovered the Saint and the Saint books, when I was a teenager, in the beginning of the eighties, in Holland you could easy buy a new Dutch copy of this book, like I did.

Edited by Grard Bond, 17 November 2013 - 12:03 AM.

[Dustin]

I don't even know for sure if this is the case, Ian will probably be able to shed some light on the matter, I don't want to spread wrong ideas about the reason MEET THE TIGER is not included in this run.

[Ian Dickerson]

The rights to Meet the Tiger rest with the Estate of Leslie Charteris.

 

The last authorised reprint was the September 1980 Ace Charter paperback. After that Leslie concluded that the book was "a youthful embarrassment" and put a stop to any further editions. Sadly his widow is maintaining this stance.

 

Ian

[Dustin]

Many thanks, Ian. I knew I've read about the matter before, I just wasn't sure where, nor did I remember the exact reasons.

[Simon]

Simon,

 

You can get both "Le Saint mene la danse" on DVD plus the dubbed US version "The Dance of Death". I note the latter can be bought from Amazon's Instant Video services as well.

 

Ian

 

Following help as above, I managed to see this movie as a Finalised DVD dubbed copy from the US.

A film that had been derided by Charteris, it had a limited and desguised release outside of France. Indeed the film had to be dubbed into English and to afford it a release at all following Charteris' derision, the titular hero's name had to be removed from the title leading to its alternate title, Dance of Death, and indeed within the film itself, Simon Templar had become Stewart Thompson and the nom de guerre, the Saint was never mentioned.

Over on Saint.org, it is incorrectly stated that the character was still called Simon Templar and only the Saint had been removed.

Not having seen the French version, I also wonder whether all the whistling as performed by Simon...sorry, Stewart, was in fact the whistle notes as devised by Charteris for the RKO movies.

Anyway, for the opinionated record, I see less obvious reason for this film to be derided than the catastrophic mess that is the later French film, Prend l'Affut. A film that showed occasional Saintliness in the way Stewart smiles in the face of danger, minor fisticuffs and a calm but firm presence amid the danger, it sometimes wavered between wondering if it was a crme thriller or a horror movie. Certainly if the music was anything to go by.

It is a pity the Saint nomenclatures were removed as, compared to the majority of other moving image Saint offerings further down the line, and for its time, it wasn't that bad - I feel.

Returning momentarily to the changed names, from a consonant and pronounciation point of view, clearly 'Stewart' is not formed by the mouth in the same way as 'Simon'. 'Sebastian' might have worked better...?

Has anyone else seen it? Are there other thoughts? Has anyone seen the French version to corroborate the above wonderings - I am guessing Hoppy has?

Best.

[Brisco]

I actually like Le Saint prend l'affut, and I like Marais as Templar. It's essentially a Saint Eurospy film! I think it will be more enjoyable for people who have seen a fair share of Eurospy movies, and know what to expect. In fact, I prefer that one to Dance of Death, which I've also only seen in its American version with Stewart Thompson. But that one's OK. If prend l'affut fits into the Eurospy cycle, then Dance of Death feels like the Saintly member of the cycle of Edgar Wallace films and German krimis popular in the early Sixties.

 

 

[Sharpe]

Any updates on the pilot/series?

 

If it doesn't go to series, would the pilot ever be released?

[saint mark]

Perhaps nothing about the series but perhaps something new for the fans.

 

Moonstone Books
THE SAINT: THE MAN WHO WAS CLEVER by Leslie Charteris
Coming in February!

Previews Exclusive!
First ever graphic novel for THE SAINT!


"Adventure came to him not so much because he sought it as because he brazenly expected it. He believed that life was full of adventure, and he went forward in the full blaze and surge of that belief." --
Simon Templar seeks to bring a drug smuggler to justice. In this story, Templar is shown in the process of establishing his reputation as a crime buster working with a team of mysterious individuals (akin to Robin Hood's Merry Men). Patricia Holm, Templar's love interest and fellow adventurer appears as well.

Told in WIDEVISION

Story: Leslie Charteris, Mel Odom
Art: David Bryant
Hardcover, 7” x 10”, b/w, 80 pages, $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-936814-70-1
 

[scaramunga]

Perhaps nothing about the series but perhaps something new for the fans.

 

Moonstone Books
THE SAINT: THE MAN WHO WAS CLEVER by Leslie Charteris
Coming in February!

Previews Exclusive!
First ever graphic novel for THE SAINT!


"Adventure came to him not so much because he sought it as because he brazenly expected it. He believed that life was full of adventure, and he went forward in the full blaze and surge of that belief." --
Simon Templar seeks to bring a drug smuggler to justice. In this story, Templar is shown in the process of establishing his reputation as a crime buster working with a team of mysterious individuals (akin to Robin Hood's Merry Men). Patricia Holm, Templar's love interest and fellow adventurer appears as well.

Told in WIDEVISION

Story: Leslie Charteris, Mel Odom
Art: David Bryant
Hardcover, 7” x 10”, b/w, 80 pages, $19.99
ISBN: 978-1-936814-70-1
 

 

When will the preorder be up on Moonstone's website?

[saint mark]

I have pre-ordered it at my comic supplier.

 

Last time it took some months but in the end I got my copy.